With his senses-ravishing third feature, visionary director Bi Gan takes his deepest plunge yet into the realm of pure cinematic dreamscape. In a world where humans have forsaken dreams in exchange for immortality, a dreaming monster (Jackson Yee) embarks on a shape-shifting odyssey through illusion, beauty, and terror that takes him across the twentieth century and to the end of time. Unfolding in five dazzlingly imagined chapters that encompass everything from silent-cinema expressionism, to film noir, to a delirious vampire love story shot in one of Bi’s signature long takes, Resurrection is a work of breathtaking imagination in which cinema is the ultimate portal to the unconscious mind.

The Garden Cinema View:

Bi Gan’s first film in 7 years (he’s still only 36), cements his place at the vanguard of contemporary cinema; a filmmaker whose singular vision, and self-confidence, makes for thrilling viewing experiences. Resurrection is his most ambitious work to date (and the boldest film of the year). A sprawling and hallucinatory sci-fi epic which begins in a kind of Guy Maddin early-cinema styled future, before plunging backwards into 20th century Chinese history. This is a vast genre-hopping canvas. And as with such films (think the Wachowskis’ Cloud Atlas or Bertrand Bonello’s The Beast) there is a fine line between art and folly. Resurrection might be uneven and a little frustrating when compared to Bi’s Kaili Blues or his majestic Long Day’s Journey into Night, but when it works it soars, and pushes the boundaries of what cinema can achieve.

Cast:
Jackson Yee, Shu Qi